As an Englishman it would be presumptuous to try to analyze the concept of pakikisama, such an ingrained necessity of socialization among Filipinos. But is it?

Pakikisama is the maintenance of smooth relationships with one’s fellow men, or women. It is polite even rather humble behavior and is generally considered socially necessary in order to avoid ostracization. But by my observation, it operates in some rather odd ways.

There doesn’t seem to be much consciousness of the need to maintain smooth relationships with for example the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) accounts people, they just cut off your service without so much as a word, regardless of whether their presumptions about your account status are right or wrong. Nor does there seem to be too much of it exhibited in the consumer complaints department. As I have written about before, in driving there seems to be quite a lot of tolerance exhibited towards; the people who block major roads doing turns that they could better do by driving along a little way and finding a side street to use for their change of direction, or those whose lane discipline is of the “let’s go over there it looks nicer” variety.

What I find most interesting of all though is the apparent pakikisama in relation to corrupt practice. Is this a manifestation of pakikisama or is it something else? What I mean here is that many times people will be aware that some form of corrupt practice is being perpetrated, but despite having the opportunity they just don’t acknowledge it as wrong or do anything about it. They just go along with it. Now why do people do this, even those in positions of public responsibility? I simply do not believe that most people in the Philippines are themselves corrupt, but to tolerate corruption is to sustain it as the “Filipino way of doing business.” Is it pakikisama that demands that people do not say anything or take exception—“turn a blind eye” to the corrupt activities that they see and could if they chose do something about. Or is it fear of retribution [or even fear of being proved wrong] that prevents people from reporting it or taking steps to stop it?

There are a few high profile accusations of corruption which have been filling the newspapers for some months now, but these look more like witch-hunts to the uninformed reader, and because of that they do little to stem the general environment or perceptions of corruption in the Philippines.

Unethical or unfair business behavior may not always be because of pecuniary benefit. Here in the Philippines family ties, loyalties and relationships are strong and can last many generations. It may be that somebody’s grandfather had a business relationship with somebody else’s grandfather, or cousin, or wife’s nephew or whoever many years ago that maintains some form of social obligation to later generations. “We need to maintain smooth inter-family relationships here so let’s just turn a blind eye to something that they are doing and which we have to power to stop.” Such relationship webs may be responsible for much that we tag as “corruption.” Thing is, it doesn’t make it right even though in a Filipino context it may be socially necessary.

Regardless of the recent hype about the Philippines economy, the Philippines like every country in the world needs foreign direct investment, which means that external perceptions of the strength and influence of corruption in business need to be ameliorated—big time. If the Philippines could exist in a vacuum in isolation from the rest of the world, then the Filipino way of doing business could continue quite happily—but the Philippines, like China, is now just discovering cannot live in isolation from the rest of the world.

I have frequently noticed that there are some other Asian nations with ethical standards which are not those of the developed Western world, whose business activities in the Philippines to my mind take advantage of the Filipino way of business. They use their money and the reluctance of the Filipinos to resist corrupt practice to their own benefit. Now that can’t be right can it . . . ?

To sustain the Philippines “way of doing business” is to repel Western foreign investors, to allow some investors to rape the economy [if they can], to put the Philippines more and more into a vacuum and to maintain the status quo so far as decent jobs and opportunity is concerned. But is there a mood for change, I wonder?

Mike can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.